Scars
by Kaiser Bonaparte
Summary: In a terrifying skirmish, the Paladins were confronted by the witch, Haggar. However, instead of fighting them herself, she took control of Shiro's cyborg prosthetic and used him as a pawn of Zarkon! They barely managed to rescue him from Haggar's control, but not without terrible consequences. SHIROxALLURA AFTERMATH ONESHOT


Allura woke to the sound of footsteps in the hallway. At first, she thought it might be Coran, but when the door slid open and a well-muscled figure stood in the doorway, she realized who her late-night visitor was.

Shiro paused on the threshold, his grey eyes shining in the dim blue light.

The princess shifted and sat up in bed.

"Oh! Princess, I didn't think you were awake." Shiro said quietly, shuffling uncomfortably. "I was just—"

"Keeping an eye on me?" Allura smiled softly. Shiro cast his eyes to the ground and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm worried." he admitted. "After what happened to you…." Images of Allura lying on the floor of the Galra ship passed through his mind like leaves on the wind. He could almost feel her blood smearing his hands and hear her cry of pain and shock.

He shook his head to clear it, and found that warm tears were dripping down his cheeks.

"Shiro," Allura called, watching him rubbing his eyes as he tried to clear away the salty liquid. He looked up at her, then crossed the room where he fell to his knees beside her bed.

"Allura," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"I've already forgiven you." Allura said gently, but her fingers rose to the spot where Shiro's hand had slashed open her chest. There were other wounds, and his Galra technology had damaged her flesh in a way that couldn't be repaired by the cryopods, leaving her with a long, ugly scars trailing across her body.

"Why?" Shiro asked, gazing up at her with such hurt in his stare that the princess didn't know what to say next.

Why _had_ she forgiven him? She knew it shouldn't be his fault, but part of her still blamed him for every blow he struck. And his _face_ when he was attacking her…the thought of it made her flinch.

" _Why_?" Shiro pressed, his face contorting in anger. Finally, Allura let out a sigh.

She pulled back the covers and slid to the edge of the bed, where she let herself sink to the floor. She reached up to Shiro's tear-stained face and cupped his cheek in on hand. Her other lightly traced the scar across his nose, brushed aside strands of white hair.

"Sometimes things happen that aren't within our power to control." she said. "I lost my father. Pidge lost her family. You were captured by the Galra." She felt Shiro place his cool, metallic hand over where hers rested against his face. "You should not hold yourself responsible for what the Galra have done to you."

Allura took Shiro's mechanical hand and pressed its steely fingers over her heart, over the scar it left. Shiro hated that scar. It was a permanent reminder that he had nearly beaten Allura to death a few days ago.

"But—" the Altean held her index finger against his mouth.

"I'm not finished." she said sharply. "You may have been the _means_ of putting my life in jeopardy, but you certainly weren't the one who wanted to."

Shiro's shoulders sagged and new tears welled in his eyes. He let his head fall against Allura's shoulder, his breath shuddering.

He murmured something into the side of her neck as he inhaled her scent and absorbed the soft heat of her body. Her thick, white hair tickled his cheek. He felt her fingers stroking his back.

"What was that?" she asked absently. Her hands wandered along his broad shoulders and down the length of his spine, mapping the contours of his torso. She'd often fantasized what it would be like to hold him like this, but nothing she could come up with compared with what it was really like; he was _much_ warmer that she thought he would be.

"You're right." he repeated. He hiccupped slightly as he drew his next breath. "It was selfish of me to think it was my fault. But…I still can't stop having nightmares about it."

"Tell me." Allura said, leaning forward to put her head against his chest. Shiro blinked in surprise.

"Well," he started thickly. "You and I are always there with Haggar, just like it was before."

"Go on."

"There's no one else in the room. Just us three. And then I'm…trying to kill you. _Just like it was before_."

He pulled away and looked at her forlornly. Shiro didn't often sleep well—his body was unwilling to cope with soft mattresses rather than prison floors—but when he did he was assaulted with visions of the gladiator arena and the Kerberos mission. After he'd nearly killed Princess Allura, new dreams came to torment him during the night like predators toying with injured prey.

"You can stay with me tonight," Allura said, a blush creeping into her cheeks. "That is…if you want to."

Shiro stared at her for a long while.

"I…I think I would like that. But doesn't that make us more than friends?" he said quietly, his lips twitching in a smile.

"With your permission, Shiro, I would like it to be that way." she said. Allura stood up and slipped back into bed, closing her eyes. She heard the sound of Shiro unzipping his vest, then peeling off his shirt before he lay down beside her. He adjusted himself until he was comfortable, then pulled the sheets over his chest.

Allura slid her arms around him and scooted close enough to lay her head against the Black Paladin's shoulder. Her sensitive ears could faintly hear his heart pulsing on the other side of his chest.

"We're more than friends, then?" she smiled. Shiro moved his arm to circle her shoulders. He wished he could feel with that arm.

"If it's alright with you." he replied. Allura raised her head and gently placed a kiss against his lips. His eyes blinked open in surprise.

"Goodnight, Shiro."

 **Thank you to my readers! If I get five positive reviews before Monday, I'll add more, but for now I will leave this here.**


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